Trapped
by Serpentine Wisdom
Summary: Tsuna is dead and a funeral needs to be held but one of the guardians is missing… onesided 1827.


**Title:** Trapped  
**Author: **Serpentine Wisdom  
**Fandom: **Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**  
Characters: **Reborn, Hibari and Gokudera**.  
Pairing:** One-sided Hibari/Tsuna  
**Rating:** T**  
Warnings:** Some spoilers for the Future Arc**  
Disclaimer:** I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or any of it's characters and I'm not making any profit out of this.**  
Summary:** Tsuna is dead and a funeral needs to be held but one of the guardians is missing…

"All you need to do is come to the funeral next week and stay for a single day," Reborn said. "After that you can continue wandering as you like."

It had taken him a quite some time for him to find the wayward guardian, who stood before them in a slick black designer suit as if he didn't have a care in the world. Just a year ago Reborn could have found him on his own, this time he had needed the help of another guardian. Hibari was always unpredictable and he was uncertain how well he could handle him in this condition – trapped in his wheelchair as he was. All of the guardians had volunteered but in the end only Gokudera had been free to accompany him as the others were tied down with their own responsibilities in this time of crisis.

Hibari didn't even turn his head to look at them. "Without the ring of cloud I suppose."

"Of course," Reborn replied. "The guardians can't exist without the sky, all the rings will be split up again to wait for the next generation. After this final duty your time as cloud guardian will be over."

"I see," Hibari said staring up at the empty blue sky. "But what makes you think I'll give it to you?"

"You bastard!" Gokudera exclaimed, grabbing a hold of the collar of Hibari's suit. "Are you going to dishonour the Tenth's memory!"

"Gokudera, let go of him. We didn't come here to start a fight," Reborn's voice commanded sharply before he broke down into a short coughing fit.

Hibari turned to face them at the sound, and his eyes narrowed calculatingly, much like a predator spotting a lame prey. "Are you going to obey you master's voice, puppy, or will I get to bite you to death right here?"

"You– " Gokudera began, anger twisting his face even more. "Fine!"

With a frustrated push he released his hold on Hibari, who stumbled back a couple of steps before regaining his usual graceful posture. The cloud guardian just levelled Gokudera with his usual contempt-filled glare and straightened his collar. But Gokudera had already turned his attention to the ageing hitman in the wheelchair besides him.

"Because this bastard has been too busy wandering on his own we've had to postpone the tenths funeral for several weeks and he still hasn't given us any reason to believe he will actually show up this time!" He said bitterly. "On top of that he plans to keep the ring of cloud for himself! Why the fuck shouldn't we just terminate this selfish asshole right now? Let's just take the ring!"

Reborn silenced Gokudera's complaints with a sharp motion with his hand, a hand once small and deceptively soft that was now large and withered with age. Although he was still strong, both guardians knew he couldn't beat either of them anymore. Still, the legend Reborn had been lived on and granted him a measure of respect in the world of the Mafia – even from Gokudera who was only truly respectful to the Tenth. It had originally Reborn who had brought all the guardians together in the first place and even though his body was now frail and decaying at an alarming speed if they went against him it would force them to admit that Vongola was falling apart at the seems. And while that didn't appear to matter very much to Hibari, Vongola was all that Gokudera had left that he truly cared about.

Reborn sighed. "Gokudera, I know the Tenth's death has been hard on you but you need to think about Vongola's future and stop taking out your frustrations on those around you. If you can't control yourself you're even more useless to us than Hibari."

"I –" Gokudera began then looked the other way, his head bowed. "Please excuse my behaviour."

The old man returned his attention to the dark-haired mafioso, weighing options in his mind and taking in the unusually tense stance of the Cloud Guardian – like a tightly strung bow. "I would think you of all people would be the most eager to be free of your duties as a guardian, Hibari."

"Duty?" Hibari said. "Something like that can't restrain me, arcobaleno."

"Then what can?" Reborn countered. "You joined the Guardians because of Dino Cavallone's interference but what was it that kept you with us?"

At this Hibari fell silent, his face growing cold with anger, and tightened his grip on his tonfa. A metallic 'click' was heard and small, thorn-like blades sprung forward and he crossed the space between him and the feeble-looking, wrinkly old man in the wheel chair in less then a split second. Reborn barely had time to raise a metal cane to stop the attack that came rushing down on him.

"I may look like this, but I won't be easy prey," he smiled. "Gokudera, don't interfere."

Reluctantly Gokudera put out the fuse on the dynamite he held in his hand and crossed his arms to wait. Reborn knew that once given the order, regardless of the outcome, the silver-haired mafioso would not intervene. Just a few months ago that wouldn't have been true but an important part of Gokudera seemed to have died along with Tsuna and the man that was left seemed to feel little beside anger and self-loathing.

"Oh? I see you still have a few moves up your sleeve," Hibari raised an eyebrow and jumped back to avoid being struck by the cane but did not look the least bit convinced by Reborn's words. "Although you say that… your hands are shaking, old man."

"You sound disappointed," Reborn remarked casually.

"Very," Hibari said. "I should have fought you before the Negative Seven Rays affected you. This fight is hardly even worth the time."

And it was clear that it was Hibari that held the upper hand. Reborn could feel it clearly, like and oppressive aura bearing down on him, the cloud guardian had once again grown even stronger since the last time they had met. He had at times doubted it, but Dino seemed to have been correct in his prediction that Hibari's potential for growth was unlimited. But there was something wrong with the way he moved, jerkier and less planned than he remembered it was almost like he had lost his composure… Hibari who was infamous for being unflappable even in the most extreme circumstances.

"You would be the type, wouldn't you?" The old man said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Looking for a replacement to take out your anger on, it's a very childish way of thinking."

"You talk a lot of nonsense, old man," Hibari said but remained immobile.

"But you are angry, aren't you?" Reborn said smiling humourlessly. "Angry that you never had the chance to kill him, the person you hated the most in this world."

Hibari's slanted eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't talk like you know me."

"I won't," Reborn said, but there was a certainty in his voice that even Gokudera couldn't help but notice. "But the funeral is this Monday, you should be there if you can still remember why you hate him. Gokudera, we're leaving."

"Already?" Gokudera asked.

Reborn nodded and Gokudera steered the wheelchair away from the cloud guardian.

"Why did we leave?" Gokudera asked after a while when they were no longer within hearing distance of Hibari. "We didn't accomplish what we came for. Hibari probably still won't come for the funeral and we don't have the ring of cloud."

"He'll show up, although you might not notice his presence," Reborn said. "That guy wouldn't miss it."

"Huh?" Gokudera said. "What are you talking about? Wasn't it because he was missing that we had to postpone it?"

"That guy was running from the truth just like you were," Reborn replied. "He was in denial."

"Hibari? I wouldn't have figured he'd care enough about anyone to go into denial."

"Tsuna was the person Hibari hated the most," the old man said. "Maybe it's not 'care' in the way you imagine but it's an attachment."

"Eh, the tenth was?" Gokudera said incredulously. "Then what was all that 'remember why you hate him' stuff? And doesn't Hibari hate everyone"

"Don't mistake indifference and cruelty for hatred." Reborn responded, talking with a voice heavy with experience. "Hatred is much more personal."

"I still don't get it."

"I guess I'll have to be direct or you won't understand," Reborn said, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "Hibari hated Tsuna because he loved him."

"Hibari? Love? Are we even talking about the same person here?"

"Is it really that strange?" Reborn asked. "Hibari values his freedom above everything else, someone like him would only view love as a burden, something that trapped him."

"Hibari has always done whatever he wanted whenever he wanted to, how the fuck does he feel trapped?" Gokudera protested. "The tenth never tried to hold him back. Not a single damn time!"

"Tsuna didn't have to do anything, it was enough that he existed," Reborn said. "Hatred isn't necessarily always logical."

"I still don't believe it," Gokudera said. "You might as well say the sky is purple and grass is blue, it's just not possible."

-----

The funeral was a solemn affair with rows and rows of men in black suits that came to pay their final respects to the Vongola boss. It disgusted Reborn that more than half of them were probably only there to surreptitiously inspect the state of the Vongola family, searching for signs of weakness like a flock of vultures.

If he had been wrong and Hibari didn't make an appearance many would take it as sign of the Vongola family's declining power and internal instability. The Vongola were already vulnerable enough without a boss or clear successor, the last thing they needed were a bunch of opportunists angling for a grab of power. He was gambling that beneath all of Hibari's ugly hatred there was still something that cared enough for Tsuna to show up. However, as the day had progressed and there was no trace of the cloud guardian he began to wonder if he had miscalculated.

When the doors of the church opened and Tsuna's coffin was carried outside by the guardians he breathed out in relief, there in between Mukuro and Yamamoto was Hibari. His grey eyes fixed in a stony glare straight ahead.

That simple act of bothering to show up cemented Reborn's theory in his own mind, although it would do little good at this point.

'_You hated him,'_ Reborn thought. _'Just as much for never loving you back, at least in the way you wanted him to, as for making you love him. When you first heard he died you were probably happy, but only until you discovered that although he is no longer in this world… his grip on you is even stronger because now you can never be free.'_

Reborn coughed, his shoulders shaking, and covered his mouth to muffle the sounds. When he pulled his hand away, it was covered in blood.

_**The End.**_

**Author notes:** Reborn is an old man in this fic because of the effect of the negative seven rays.


End file.
